Would Bitcoin survive a 10-year power outage? – Cointelegraph Magazine

And that’s because the same copy of the Bitcoin ledger — a record of all Bitcoin transactions from its genesis block to today — is stored on tens of thousands of computers all over the world. 

While a power outage may make it impossible to transmit or verify new transactions, as long as the records are intact, the network can be restored with just the one node once power returns.

And this shouldn’t seem like a stretch to think about. After all, Bitcoin was mined by a very small number of people in its early days. 

Satoshi Nakamoto launched the protocol on Jan. 3, 2009, and it is widely believed that Nakamoto was, at times, the only Bitcoin miner online. 

Fast forward to today, and there are now nearly 25,000 Bitcoin nodes worldwide. 

“There’s nothing like that, right? All your money at a bank, the Bank of America could be wiped out with a keystroke,” says Saylor.

“Lots of banks could be wiped out, but Bitcoin is the most resilient thing in cyberspace because it is so incredibly decentralized.”

So maybe Bitcoin can restart after a 10-year power outage. But does it even need to? 

Bitcoin could survive on renewable energy

Daniel Batten, a Bitcoin environmental impact analyst and Bitcoin coach, argues that Bitcoin probably won’t even go down at all. 

“Even in this doomsday scenario, sufficient amounts of Bitcoin are off-grid that the network would continue,” Batten tells Magazine. 

A study from Cambridge in April found that, as of mid-2024, off-grid energy accounted for approximately 8.1%, or 1.23 Gigawatts, of the total power use by crypto mining firms, and around 26% of miners said they have utilized off-grid power. 

This includes using stranded methane, micro-hydro, solar panels and wind that can generate the power needed to mine cryptocurrency — all without the need for the grid, explains Batten. 

“The people off-grid mining… would maintain the network, and it would still be the most secure monetary network in the world.”

There are some potential plot holes to this theory, though. 

Even renewable energy systems require maintenance and replacement parts, and personnel who can fix issues whenever they arise. 

A global catastrophe that could see as much as 90% of the population wiped out would probably decimate the supply chain even if we managed to harness some power from renewable energy. 

We could also question whether maintaining the Bitcoin network and a monetary system would really be the best use of power, given there would be so many other immediate needs like food, shelter and medical care. 

But let’s just say, for argument’s sake, that Bitcoin can still be mined; the next question is whether the blockchain can remain synced globally. 

There’s the problem of the internet

Bitcoin relies heavily on the internet. After all, it’s currently the most efficient means of sending data across the globe. Intercontinental data travels through approximately 8 million miles of fiber-optic cables running along the ocean floor.

With global power gone, it’s unlikely these cables can be maintained, meaning they will slowly degrade over time. Does this mean the internet is done for?

Well, Swan Bitcoin argues that the internet, like Bitcoin, is designed for maximum survivability. 

“Any computer in the world running the internet’s proto­cols, which are themselves open-source software that can connect to any other computer doing the same thing, is ‘on the internet,’” explains Swan Bitcoin software developer Rigel Walshe.

“It may not have access to every other computer on…